6 Things to Do at Doi Inthanon

Take a day trip from Chiang Mai, Thailand to this national park to see the Vachiratharn Waterfall and King and Queen Pagodas.

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No trip to Doi Inthanon National Park is complete without visiting the modern King and Queen Pagodas atop the mountain

Known as “the Roof of Thailand,” Doi Inthanon is the country’s highest peak at 8,415 feet above sea level. It’s also part of the Himalayan mountain range (the world’s largest), extending from Bhutan through Nepal and Myanmar to Northern Thailand. Situated  in the Chom Thong District of Chiang Mai Province, Doi Inthanon National Park includes majestic waterfalls, a diversity of forest plants and countless species of mammals and birds. The peak of the mountain is punctuated with modern twin pagodas.

“The cooling spray of mist is an excellent way to cool off, and if you’re lucky you might catch a monk taking a selfie (#monkie?).”

Plus it’s a mere 36 miles west of the tourist mecca of Chiang Mai via Highway 107. It’s not at the top of our day trip list (if you can only take one, head to Chiang Rai instead), but you can spend a fun day exploring this park.

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The spiritual heart of Doi Inthanon is King Inthawichayanon, the last ruler of Chiang Mai, whose passion project was the preservation of Thailand’s forests for future generations. When he passed away in November 1897, his ashes were interred within the park and the forest was renamed Doi Inthanon, a more manageable shortening of his name.

Here are 6 things to do on a trip to the park in a recommended order:

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TLC be damned! Wally and Duke did go chasing waterfalls

1. Chase Waterfalls

The park has several magnificent waterfalls. One of them, Vachiratharn Waterfall, is located on the lower slopes of Doi Inthanon. What’s nice is that it's reached by a short, easy trail from a parking area, so you don’t have to hike to it.

Stop by the Vachiratharn Waterfall — no hiking necessary

There’s a wooden observation deck where you can view the power of the water plummeting over the edge of the granite escarpment into the pool below. The cooling spray of mist is an excellent way to cool off on a hot day, and if you’re lucky you might even catch a monk taking a selfie (#monkie?) like we did.

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#monkie? It’s not every day you see a monk taking a selfie

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The Royal Project is an ambitious plan to get hill tribe people to have a source of income other than opium

2. Admire the Royal Agricultural Station

The Royal Project was initiated in 1979 by King Bhumibol to fight poverty and encourage rural hill tribe farmers to cultivate sustainable crops other than opium. Vast swaths of land are covered in terraced steps where the Hmong and Karen hill tribe farmers grow fruits, vegetables and flowers. The Royal Project also serves as a model center to disseminate knowledge and promote innovation.

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Grab lunch near the Royal Project garden

3. Take a (Lunch) Break

The Royal Project boasts a casual al fresco restaurant offering a variety of signature and traditional fare. Wally and I sat at a table on the covered terrace overlooking a copse of banana palm trees. A tour guide at a neighboring table helped us order two Beer Chang, and we didn’t complain when they came out in giant bottles — quite refreshing after a morning spent in the sun.

We ordered one hit, roasted duck medallions with coffee glaze, and one miss, Inthanon spicy fried rice with Thai-style sour pork sausage. Neither of us have ever had pig knuckles, but we imagined this might be what they taste like. We gnawed on the gristly bone stubs, though, and put bits of fried pork rinds into the spicy veggie sauce. It's amazing what you’ll do when you're hungry. But hey, who’s complaining, when the entire meal came to $12?

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Keep an eye out for the black swan in the Royal Project pond

4. Stroll Through the Gardens

After lunch you can meander through the immaculate flower garden, which features a large pond with a pair of swans, one white and one black (much less harrowing than Natalie Portman’s off-the-rails performance as a tragic ballerina).

Black (Swan Lake). #doiinthanonnationalpark #royalproject #amazingthailand #thailand #discoverthailand #swan #blackswan #bird #rtw #travelblogger #travelgram #exploremore #wanderlust #traveltheworld #savoteur

A post shared by Wally & Duke (@notsoinnocents) on Jul 19, 2017 at 4:35pm PDT

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It started raining right as we got to the pagodas atop Doi Inthanon

5. Head for The Hills and See the Pagodas

The Royal Thai Air Force erected the modern tiered pagodas at the summit to commemorate the 60th birthdays of the late King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. Because it was raining, we pretty much had the site to ourselves and were free to explore. Each pagoda has a flight of steps leading up to it and a covered escalator, which was not working on our visit but provided some shelter from the rain. Thankfully, we had remembered to bring umbrellas with us, though we still got soaked while exploring the gardens outside of the King Pagoda.

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The Buddha inside the King Pagoda sits in a teaching position

King Pagoda

The octagonal bell-shaped ochre-and-gold-hued pagoda, named Phra Mahathat Naphamethanidon, stands 197 feet tall and is comprised of three distinct levels. These symbolize the main principles of Buddhism: karma, reincarnation and impermanence.

The multicolored stonework bas reliefs outside the King Pagoda tell the story of the Buddha

Inside is a Buddha image seated in the Vitarka Mudra position, symbolic of the Enlightened One teaching his disciples. The circle formed by the thumb and index finger of the left hand indicates the constant flow of energy — there is no beginning or end, only perfection.

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Not sure if Buddhists believe in Hell — but this sure doesn’t look like a pleasant spot

Stone panels inside and outside of the pagoda depict important events from the life of the Buddha. The tilework reliefs encircling the King Pagoda have amazing depictions of mythical creatures, including the giant eagle Garuda fighting the snakelike Naga.

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Hey, Garuda! Back off of Naga! The eagle god and giant snake are seen battling in this carving

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Explore the quaint park with a pond behind the Queen Pagoda

Queen Pagoda

The 12-sided lavender pagoda, named Phra Mahathat Naphapholphumisiri, is crowned with a golden lotus bud and is 16 feet shorter than the king’s, indicating that the queen is 5 years younger (not sure how that math adds up).

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The Buddha inside the Queen Pagoda stands in a posture of reflexion

Inside, the Buddha image stands in the Pang Ram Pueng posture, symbolic of reflection. If you have visited a wat or temple in Thailand, you may have noticed depictions of the Buddha standing, sitting or reclining. Some of these represent the days of the week, and the Pang Ram Pueng is known as the Friday Buddha. Devotees who were born on this day pay respect to this image, which incidentally marks the day Queen Sirikit was born.

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There are so many crazy carvings to check out at these pagodas, including this one of a female being with frightening head

The tiled mosaics surrounding the pagoda illustrate stories relating to the lives of famous bhikkhunis, ordained female followers of the Buddha.

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Three ladies go for a swim in this cool bas relief at the pagodas atop Doi Inthanon

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Mae Ya Waterall is farther afield but worth visiting

6. Visit Mother Ya

Nestled amongst the spectacular backdrop of a lush, serene forest, Mae Ya Waterfall is located on the other side of the mountain, about seven miles from Chom Thong Village within Doi Inthanon National Park. The water flows from the Mae Ya River, cascading over a series of tiers as it plunges from an impressive 853-foot-high cliff. We arrived just before what we refer to as the magic hour, when sunlight casts a diffused golden hue, an hour or so before sunset.

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Wally takes one of his famous jumping shots at the edge of the Mae Ya River

You’ll notice a tree wrapped with colorful ribbons with dresses in front of it. That’s a shrine to Phi Nang Ta-khian, a tree spirit. –Duke

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Duke at Mae Ya Waterfall

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บ้านหลวง ซอย2 Ban Luang
Chom Thong District
Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50160, Thailand

7 Fun Facts About the Milan Cathedral

What to do in Milan, Italy? Visit the gorgeous Duomo di Milano, covered with statues of saints and gargoyles — and don’t miss the amazing view from the rooftop.

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Somehow the Milan Duomo was even more beautiful in the rain.

If there’s one thing you absolutely have to include on a trip to Milan, Italy, it’s the massive Milan Cathedral. (Unless, of course, your tastes lean a bit more to the macabre, in which case, I recommend spending an afternoon wandering the impressive artistic grounds of the Cimitero Monumentale — see the photos here.)

Locally, the cathedral is known as the Duomo, which confused me since there’s no visible dome like the one in Florence. Its white exterior features delicate carvings so fine you could almost imagine they were made of lace. Despite its size, it feels a bit dainty — odd for a church in the Gothic style.

“My favorite part of the Duomo is the part closest to Heaven: the rooftop, where you can look out at the bustling city beyond.”

Holy moley! Here are 7 stunning facts about this breathtaking cathedral:

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Delicate spires topped with religious figures are part of the elaborately decorated Duomo.

1. The Duomo is big. Like really, really big.

In fact, it’s the second-largest Catholic church in the world, behind only Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome — which was built after the Duomo. Milan’s cathedral takes up an entire city block.

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A carving of David slaying the giant Goliath. Somebody send that boy to juvie!

2. It boasts more statues than any other building in the world.

That’s what the tourist literature tells you, at least. And it’s hard to argue: The entirety of the façade is covered with carved architectural elements portraying flowers, fruits and fantastical beasts, including delightfully grotesque gargoyles. There are plenty of saints sprinkled throughout as well. Sources disagree on the exact number, but it seems to be over 3,300 statues total, including about 100 gargoyles and 135 spires.

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Milan’s most popular attraction, the cathedral, took over 600 years to be built.

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How can this Christian take a nap with all those wolves baying?

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The best part of the Milan Cathedral is its expansive rooftop.

3. It has the best views in the city.

My favorite part of the Duomo is the part closest to Heaven. You can go up to the rooftop (accessible by stairs and an elevator) and look out at the bustling city beyond, as well as get closer views of the needle-like spires, each topped with a religious figure.

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The terraza atop the Milan Duomo is a popular (and absolutely stunning) hangout spot.

There’s one main area of the roof, the terraza, and, indeed, I wasn’t the only one with the bright idea to go up there. Businessmen in suits, young kids playing games and canoodling couples filled the space. Imagine having a rooftop like this as one of your regular lunch spots.

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Wally wandered around to the back of the roof and found a quiet spot to read in the sun.

I noticed a side walkway and set off on an exploration. The path wound its way around the roof, underneath the arches of flying buttresses. The crowd thinned out, until it was just me and the odd visitor. I found a secluded nook, got out my book and read for an hour or so in the sun, atop one of the largest churches in the world, utterly delighted.

A Spire To Great Heights. Dedicated to St. Mary of the Nativity, the Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. One of the main features of the cathedral is the Madonnina (Virgin Mary) spire, the highest point in the city. The statue that stands atop is gilded in over 6,000 sheets of pure gold foil. #duomomilano #duomo #italia #milan #italy #madonnina #gothicarchitecture  #travelblogger #exploremore #traveldeeper #mytinyatlas #wanderlust #traveltheworld #getaway #travelpics #tourist  #savoteur

A post shared by Wally & Duke (@notsoinnocents) on Aug 1, 2016 at 6:27pm PDT

4. One of the statues has gained fame and is part of a local legend.

The symbol of the city and patroness of the Milanese people, the gilded Madonnina (the Little Madonna), stands atop the main spire of the cathedral. The tallest of all of the many statues on the cathedral, the open-armed Madonna rises 354 feet high. Built in 1774, tradition holds that it must be the tallest man-made object in Milan. So, when a modern building surpassed this height, a replica of la Madonnina was placed atop it.

During World War II, the Madonnina was covered with a cloth for five years to avoid providing an easy target for fighter-bombers.

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The Duomo is gorgeous at night as well.

5. The construction of the Duomo took over six centuries.

Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo, supported in the endeavor by the Lord of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, began building the cathedral in 1386. At least 78 different architects from around Europe were invited to work on the structure, and construction dragged on. By 1418, they had decided it was time to consecrate the cathedral, even though only the nave was actually finished at the time.

For the next two centuries, construction continued, but politics, lack of funding and local frustration with a massive, seemingly endless project smack-dab in the middle of the city kept causing delays.

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Napoleon helped finally wrap up construction of the Duomo’s façade — so he could be crowned King of Italy in the cathedral.

6. Napoleon played an important role in the Duomo’s construction.

How did the façade finally get finished? This was accomplished by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte, in the early 1800s, after he had conquered the city. He wanted to be crowned King of Italy in the Duomo and wanted the exterior completed beforehand. A generous (if vain) guy, he offered to pay all expenses — after a talk with the French treasurer. Seven years later, the façade was completed, and the ceremony took place as the diminutive leader wanted. This explains why there’s a statue of Napoleon atop one of the many spires.

Milan’s Navigli District is a restaurant and art hotspot.

7. The Duomo’s construction is responsible for the navigli, the city’s canal system.

The cathedral’s edifice is made of Candoglia marble from Lake Maggiore to the north of Milan. To transport it from the quarries, canals were constructed, some of which remain to this day. In fact, the Navigli District is quite a hotspot, known for its restaurants and art galleries. –Wally
 

The Ghost of Mae Nak Phra Kanong

Thailand’s most popular ghost story tells the gruesome tale of a woman who dies in childbirth but returns to her unsuspecting husband.

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The ghost of a mom and stillborn baby have caught the Thai imagination, as seen in this 2012 movie poster

Everyone loves a ghost story, and Thais are no exception. The country’s most enduring ghost story features the spirit of a woman named Mae Nak and her baby. Her tale is so popular it has been told in numerous films, comic books and even a musical.

According to Thai folklore, this tragic tale took place in the village of Phra Khanong during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV). A beautiful young woman named Nang Nak was pregnant, when her husband, Nai Maak, was summoned to battle. Due to complications during labor, Nang Nak and her unborn child both perished.

“He returned home to greet his wife and child — not realizing that they were both, in fact, ghosts!”

Nai Maak, though, never heard this news. After a long period of absence, he returned home to greet his wife and child — not realizing that they were both, in fact, ghosts! Her powerful spirit had lingered and created the illusion that she and the baby were still alive. At this point, she became known as Mae Nak, with mae meaning “mother.”

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A dead mother and her baby pretend to still be alive in the Mae Nak legend

Concerned neighbors who tried to warn her husband of the deception met untimely demises at the hands of the furious ghost.

One day, as the phantom Nak was preparing a meal, she absentmindedly dropped a lime. It slipped through the floorboards to the ground. In her haste, she extended her arm right through the floor to retrieve it. Maak witnessed this and finally realized that the woman he thought was his wife was actually a ghost.

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The infamous ghosts haunt this 1959 movie as well

That evening, filled with a sense of dread, he wished with all his being that he could forget what he had seen. Heart racing, he excused himself to go to the bathroom, but instead ran to the safety of the nearby Mahabut Temple; he knew he’d be safe because a soulless spirit cannot enter consecrated ground.

Finding Maak gone, the ghost pursued him, and in her grief terrorized the village. However, a powerful forest-dwelling ruesi, or shaman, captured her spirit. He confined it to an earthen jug and tossed it into a canal.

Like any good story told in the oral tradition, there are actually several versions as to how Mae Nak was eventually captured. In addition to the ruesi tale, there’s one in which the venerated monk Somdet Phra Phutthachan performed an exorcism. He obtained a buckle-size piece of bone from the skull of the exhumed remains of Mae Nak. He then confined her spirit to the skull fragment, which he wore on his waistband until his death, when the relic was given to a member of the royal family.

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Yet another film adaptation of Thailand’s fave ghost story

Mae Nok’s Shrine

A shrine dedicated to Mae Nak is located within Wat Mahabut in Bangkok, where she is worshipped as a benevolent mother goddess. Devotees make offerings of dresses and children’s toys in hopes of ensuring health and prosperity. Worshippers also pray to Mae Nak for winning lottery numbers, and in the days before the drawing, the shrine is active with ticket sellers, fortune tellers and merit-offering vendors.

Mae Nak’ s name is also commonly invoked as a boogeyman to make a child behave, as in, “Be quiet or Mae Nak will come and eat you!” –Duke

“Be quiet or Mae Nak will come and eat you!”

Why Elephant Trekking and Elephant Rides Are Evil

Before you participate in elephant tourism, learn about the barbaric abuse called phajaan, or “the crush.” Choose an elephant sanctuary instead.

As fun as elephant treks sound, they perpetuate a brutal practice of animal abuse

At first it seemed harmless, even charming. Big, lumbering elephants doing astounding tricks. I understand how tempting it is to want to ride an elephant or see an elephant show when you’re in a part of the world that offers such experiences, like Thailand and other countries in Asia.

But there’s good reason circuses in the United States have stopped having elephant acts. The process to get elephants to obey orders involves “breaking” them — and once you learn about this barbaric, heartbreaking practice, you’ll never want to be a part of elephant tourism again.

“Baby elephants are taken from their mothers and kept in small pens, where they’re beaten and starved for several weeks. ”

Of the 45,000 or so Asian elephants left in the world, up to 4,000 are held captive in Thailand, according to PETA Asia.

Before you book a trip to an elephant park when you’re in Chiang Mai or a similar region, do some research. Find a spot like the Elephant Nature Park that rescues abused elephants instead of inflicting intense pain upon these noble creatures.

“Behind the exotic façade of elephant tourism is a world of merciless beatings, broken spirits, and lifelong deprivation,” attests PETA Asia. “Once revered, elephants in Thailand today are treated like slaves.”

This poor baby elephant is undergoing the torture known as “the crush,” or phajaan

To train an elephant, it must undergo a horrific process called “the crush,” or phajaan.

Baby elephants — some still nursing — are taken from their mothers and kept in small pens or have all four legs tied up, and are beaten and starved for several weeks. The level of suffering elephants undergo is “severe,” according to World Animal Protection, which released a report about elephant tourism in 2017.

Bullhooks, long metal poles with a hook at the tip, are used to stab the elephant’s head, slash its skin and pull its ears. At an elephant show, you might notice torn ears or scarred foreheads caused during the crush.

The crush is a hill tribe ritual.

The practice began in the hill tribes of India and Southeast Asia, according to Thailand Elephants. During the phajaan “ritual,” the tribe’s shaman tries to separate the spirit of an elephant from its body.

“In reality, however, the phajaan has nothing to do with the separation of spirit and everything to do with torturing an elephant until it is so fearful of its human captors that it will do anything to avoid being hurt again,” the site writes.

As we learned on the ride to the Elephant Nature Park, during the crush, elephants have to be monitored around the clock because they’ll try to kill themselves by stepping on their trunk. If that doesn’t break your heart, I’d check your chest cavity — it’s probably empty.

The living conditions are brutal.

Elephants by nature are intelligent animals who have complex social groups. But in captivity, more than three-quarters of elephants are chained when not used for entertainment purposes, according to the World Animal Protection report. They have very little interaction with other elephants, are fed poor diets, have no access to proper veterinary care and are often exposed to loud music and throngs of tourists — stressful situations that go against their nature.

Elephant painting also involves abuse 

Even elephant painting involves abuse.

I always thought this was cute — and what was the harm? They just give an elephant a brush and it creates a work of art.

Turns out to get the elephants to paint, the handlers, known as mahouts, hold the elephant's ear, hiding the fact that they’re stabbing a nail or sharpened fingernail into its skin.

The cruel treatment of elephants has tragic repercussions.

Elephants used for entertainment live shorter lives, have behavioral problems (for which they’re surely abused even more), are more likely to come down with chronic diseases and are less likely to reproduce, The Guardian reports.

Elephant tourism got started because of the decline of logging.

For centuries, elephants were used to haul teak logs, but realizing how depleted the forests were becoming, the Thai government completely banned commercial logging in 1989. Those in the logging industry were desperate to find a use for their elephants — and tourism became a lucrative alternative, according to EARS Asia.

Instead of patronizing an operation that offers elephant rides or tricks, go to a sanctuary like the Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand, which rescues abused elephants

Elephant tourism, sadly, is growing.

There’s a huge demand for elephant tourism — a 30% increase in recent years — but you really should resist. Give your money to a place that rescues elephants; don’t be a part of the problem.

Elephant tourism remains popular because it’s “a hidden form of cruelty,” Chiara Vitali, a wildlife expert at World Animal Protection, told The Guardian. The crush “will happen before any tourist sees an elephant, so they might see an animal that’s quite chilled out — but it had that beaten into it when it was an infant,” she explained.

“Venues that offer tourists a chance to watch elephants in genuine sanctuaries are beacons of hope that can encourage the urgently needed shift in the captive elephant tourism industry,” said Jan Schmidt-Burbach, global wildlife and veterinary advisor at World Animal Protection.

Now that you’ve learned about the horrors of training elephants, we hope you’ll never forget. –Wally

“During the crush, elephants have to be monitored because they’ll try to kill themselves by stepping on their trunk. If that doesn’t break your heart, I’d check your chest cavity — it’s probably empty.”

The Secret Jungle Temple of Wat Palad

Hike the Monk’s Trail and explore this little-known temple near a waterfall on Doi Suthep mountain outside Chiang Mai.

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Perhaps Wat Palad has seen better days — and perhaps that’s part of its charm

The promise of a magical, less-trodden temple secreted amid the folds of dense tropical flora filled my head. I often search for places that are a bit off the beaten path, and after reading about Wat Palad, I knew it was a destination Wally and I wouldn't want to miss.

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The sala at Wat Palad feels less wild than much of the rest of the complex

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This naga staircase sits to one side of the waterfall

Blazing the Monk’s Trail

Our driver for hire, Tommy, drove us through the Chiang Mai University campus to the temple’s back entrance and carpark, which is located a short distance off a busy highway. The more adventurous can hike the well-worn stone footpath known as the Monk’s Trail, which leads to the temple, marked by trees with saffron cloth wrapped around their trunks.

“The tranquil forest setting was something for the soul, the perfect place to wander and rediscover a simplicity that our everyday lives often lack. ”

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Follow the saffron markers as you hike the Monk’s Trail

Wat Palad must have once been a magnificent 14th century temple. It originally functioned as a refuge for devotees undertaking the pilgrimage on foot up the mountainside to worship at Wat Doi Suthep and sustained growth through regular visitation and patronage. Not long after a road was built in 1935, the temple became a monastic residence focused as a meditative retreat. Buddhism uses meditation and isolation as a way to achieve enlightenment.

Old statues are found throughout the grounds of Wat Palad

Worshippers add squares of gold leaf to statues of the Buddha like this one at Wat Palad

A welcome reprieve from the more popular temples in Chiang Mai, Wat Palad has an overlooked and faded presence — nothing here is glaring or loud, there’s no central viharn, and best of all, there aren’t any crowds. The only sounds of life were our footfalls and the hum of cicadas as we took a path from the carpark. A pair of manussihas, mythological Burmese sphinxes, rested on their haunches at the temple’s entrance. I’m grateful they didn’t challenge us to a riddle before we entered.

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These Burmese sphinxes, known as manussihas, guard the temple complex of Wat Palad

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The jungle has reclaimed parts of Wat Palad — which makes it a fun change from most other temples in the Chiang Mai area

The temple name roughly translates as “Forest Monastery of the Sloping Rock,” named for the broad bluff the temple sits perched upon. The grounds are comprised of an impressive menagerie of statues and shrines that share an almost otherworldly relationship with the tropical jungle surrounding them. We passed a small cave with some very old-looking Buddha images within and made our way to an arched footbridge that dates back 100 years.

Jungle Temple for the Soul

A waterfall lies at the heart of the temple complex, but as it was the end of the dry season when we visited, the smooth surface of the riverbed lay exposed and the waterfall was reduced to a mere trickle.

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When we visited, the waterfall at Wat Palad was almost entirely dried up

It’s believed that the white elephant of the local ruler, King Kuena, made its first stop here to rest near the waterfall while transporting the sacred relic of the Buddha’s shoulder up the slope of Doi Suthep. I took a moment to pause and imagine the mahout and elephant stopping here to get a drink of water before moving on.

The sun had already begun to peek through the canopy as a gentle breeze passed through the trees; a bead of sweat rolled down the bridge of my nose before I wiped it away with the back of my hand.

I could sense a new sort of calm. The tranquil forest setting was something for the soul, the perfect place to wander and rediscover a simplicity that our everyday lives often lack. When the time came to leave, I felt a tug and couldn’t help but wish to linger. –Duke

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Wat Palad
Highway 1004
Tambon Su Thep
Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai
Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

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The Monsters of “Supernatural,” Season 2, Episodes 10-12

Predictions from sibyls, psychics and the Oracle at Delphi. Hoodoo practices, including quincunx and voodoo doll spells. Plus, how to kill a werewolf.

One of the first recorded psychics in the world was the Oracle at Delphi, whose cryptic messages were much sought after

S2E10: “Hunted”

Monster: Psychics

Someone's hunting the psychic young men and women whom the yellow-eyed demon is enlisting as soldiers in the coming war. Sam’s one, as is Ava, his new acquaintance, who has seen a horrific vision of things to come.

Are all the “special children” ticking timebombs, sure to turn evil at some point? Ava’s financé lying in a pool of blood with his throat slit seems to point to “yes.”

Where it’s from: Cultures from all around the world have believed in psychics, but perhaps the first mention are the sibyls of Ancient Greece.

The sibyl at Delphi sitting upon her tripod and inhaling those potentially hallucinatory fumes

Description: Only a woman could be born a sibyl, which translates to “prophetess.” As a kid, I dreamed of what it would be like to visit the most famous, the Oracle at Delphi on Mount Parnassus.

The temple of the Oracle at Delphi in its heyday

What it does: These psychics would work themselves up into an ecstatic frenzy. There’s some debate as to whether or not the priestesses were helped along by natural gas emissions in their cave (think of them as the first huffers!).

Either way, once in this altered state, the sibyl would become a conduit for a deity and would speak a somewhat cryptic response to a petitioner’s question.

Emperor Nero was one of the many who visited the Oracle at Delphi, stopping by in 67 CE, when he was 30 years old. Even at that relatively young age, he’d already ticked some things off his bucket list, including having his own mother killed. The sibyl’s unforgiving prophecy went:

“Your presence here outrages the god you seek. Go back, matricide! The number 73 marks the hour of your downfall!”

Needless to say, Nero wasn’t too pleased and had the poor woman burned alive. He assumed he’d live to the ripe old age of 73 — but there’s typically some ambiguity in these psychics’ predictions. Instead, the emperor was defeated during a revolt by a man named Galba…who happened to be 73 at the time. Nero then committed suicide.

When the original Oracle at Delphi died, legend has it she became a disembodied voice that would wander the world, whispering prophecies. I’m sure you’re happy to learn the reason behind the voices in your head.

How to defeat it: They’re still humans. Killing them just because they might go bad one day — or because you don’t like their predictions — seems extreme. (Though the trail of corpses left behind on Supernatural might speak otherwise.)

Would you stay at an inn that had a murderous spirit?

S2E11: “Playthings”

Monster: Spirit

Where it’s from: All over the world

Description: A little girl named Tyler lives at an inn, where she plays with her “imaginary friend” Maggie. Turns out this friend isn’t so imaginary after all; she’s the spirit of her great aunt, Margaret, who drowned in the pool when she was young. Maggie haunts the inn and prevents it from being sold so she doesn’t have to lose her playmate, Tyler.

What it does: There’s a giant dollhouse that’s a scale model of the inn, and the position of the dolls, which seemingly move on their own, reveals a death as it happens. The first to go is a property appraiser who is found hanging in his room.

When Dean sees all the dolls in the house they’re investigating, he says, unconvincingly, “They’re not super creepy at all.”

A quincunx symbol can connect a spell to a place and make it stronger

How to defeat it: Take some cues from the innkeeper’s Creole nanny, who used some hoodoo tricks to protect the B&B and its inhabitants, including the quincunx, or five spot symbol. It looks like the five you’re familiar with from dice: four dots in each corner of a square, with one in the middle. This is a technique to fix a spell to a specific location and empower it.

On the show, a quincunx amulet filled with bloodweed becomes a powerful way to ward off evil, Sam tells us.

You can also bind a spirit with a poppet. (I did one on President Trump, but it really doesn’t seem to have done much good.) You can find the spell in this previous Supernatural post.)

If you’re more inclined to curses or bodily harm, there’s the option of using a voodoo doll on your enemy.

I’d hate to think what someone did to get this voodoo doll treatment!

Voodoo Doll Ritual

Take some sort of doll (you can buy them all over New Orleans, make one out of wax or cloth, or even borrow someone’s Barbie for these nefarious purposes).

You’ll need some part of your victim, ideally a strand of hair or a fingernail clipping — though a photograph will work in a pinch.

Create a magic circle. Take your voodoo doll and chant, “I command you; I control you” four times. Then: “Hear my voice! The pain you have caused me I shall cause you!”

Here’s where you can get creative with your punishments. Take a needle, candle or something else to poke, prod, burn or create general mayhem upon your doll. Note that you won’t kill your victim, but they should feel the pain, stinging, burning, cold or whatever you’ve subjected the doll to.

Repeat if necessary.

When all else fails, you could try striking a deal with the spirit. In this case, Grandma Rose offers her life to spend eternity playing dollies with her dead sister. Who says there’s no such thing as Heaven?

A Werewolf in Geneva, 1580

S2E12: “Nightshifter”

Monster: Not a mandroid! It’s a shapeshifter

Where it's from: Europe

Death of the Werewolf. I hope that arrow has a silver tip on it!

Description: The Winchester boys tell us werewolf stories come from these shapeshifters, even though their methods don’t match up.

Believe it or not, there were stories of werewolves even before Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books.

A werewolf attacks a village in this woodcut from around 1512

Werewolves are humans who morph into the shape of a wolf during the full moon. The inflicted don’t remember what they’ve done during their wolf phase — which is probably a good thing, since it tends to involve mauling people to death.

One of the first written accounts of werewolves comes from Herodotus in 440 BCE, who described a tribe in Scythia who seem to have gotten stoned out of their gourds and transformed into wolves once a year.

A werewolf enjoys a tasty treat — but it’ll probably regret it in the morning

In her book Giants, Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth, Carol Rose writes, “In ancient Greece it was believed that a person could be transformed by eating the meat of a wolf that had been mixed with that of a human and that the condition was irreversible.”

Centuries later, the methods said to create werewolves expanded colorfully to include “being cursed, or by being conceived under a new moon, or by having eaten certain herbs, or by sleeping under the full moon on Friday, or by drinking water that has been touched by a wolf.”

What it does: You never know who to trust. The Supernatural shapeshifter sheds its skin in a goopy mess and keeps jumping bodies.

“God, it’s like playing the shell game,” Dean exclaims. “It could be anybody. Again.”

How to defeat it: It makes sense that silver, associated with the moon, seems to be the only thing that can end a werewolf’s life. (On a somewhat silly side note, if werewolves were to travel to the moon or touch a moon rock, it’d be even more harmful than silver — at least according to Ask Mystic Investigations, that is. The same site insists that silver can kill werewolves “due to cleansing away the demonic DNA that dwells in them.”) Ruff life. –Wally

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A Brief History of Chiang Mai

From its roots as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom to its incorporation into Siam.

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Elephants have always played an important role in Chiang Mai’s history, used for transport and as beasts of burden in the teak trade

When Wally and I decided to make the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand our destination, I was eager to learn about its history and pondered what strange spell it would cast on me.

Nestled among the rolling green mountains of Northern Thailand, Nopburi Si Nakhon Ping Chiang Mai, since shortened to the much more manageable Chiang Mai, was founded by the King Mengrai in 1296. Its name translates as New Walled City. The city became the new capital, its site chosen because of the auspicious presence of herds of spotted deer, white mice and a giant fig tree.

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The Three Kings Monument in Chiang Mai — that’s Mengrai in the middle

Mengrai had previously established the city of Chiang Rai and had also conquered Lamphun. Legend has it that King Mengrai, King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai and King Ngam Muang of Phayao formed an alliance and built the new city of Chiang Mai together.

Mengrai’s short-lived previous capital, Wiang Kum Kham, situated about three miles south, was abandoned due to repeated flooding during the intense monsoon rains that caused the Ping River to overflow. The settlement, since buried beneath alluvial sediment, was unearthed in 1984.

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Lanna women in traditional garb (hey, it gets hot there!)

Deeper Roots: The Birth of the Lanna Kingdom

The province became known as Lanna, which translates as A Million Rice Fields. At its height, the kingdom's territories spread over an area as far southwest as Tak, the Pai Valley in the west and as far north as Luang Prabang in Laos.

Mengrai reigned from Chiang Mai for 20 years, until his unexpected death in 1317 — according to legend, he was struck dead by a bolt of lightning. For the next two centuries, rulers were chosen from Mengrai’s supposedly divine lineage.

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Wat Chedi Luang as it stands today. The building was completed during the reign of King Tilokoraj

There were some greatly distinguished kings of the Mangrai Dynasty, particularly the sixth ruler, King Kuena (1355-1385) and the ninth, King Tilokoraj (1441-1487), both of whom brought about cultural, social and artistic renaissances. They turned their interests to architecture, erecting many Buddhist temples and chedis that are now referred to as classic Lanna style. The mountain temple of Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep remains the spiritual symbol of Chiang Mai today.

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An old map of Chiang Mai shows the square city center

Chiang Mai, Where Its Hip to Be Square

The fortified Old City, surrounded by a moat, is square in shape. The remnants of earthen walls with ramparts designed to protect and defend against Burmese invaders still stand, although many have been restored.

The Lanna Kingdom largely functioned autonomously, but became fragile as its principalities expanded, making Chiang Mai a pawn and allowing the Burmese to seize the city in 1556. Abandoned between 1776 and 1791, the former capital was recaptured by Prince Kawila, who began a ritual circumambulation of the city at Wat Buppharam (which has since established a connection to a certain Disney character) to reoccupy it after two centuries of Burmese rule.

Kawila mobilized the diverse segments of the population from all the nearby villages — many had since moved to Lamphun — to resettle in Chiang Mai. The prince led the reconstruction, restoration and renovation of many historic buildings, especially the revered older temples that had been built during the Mengrai Dynasty. He eventually took the throne and established the Chuea Chet Ton Dynasty, meaning the Dynasty of the Seven Lords.

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The ancient ramparts that surround the Old City still stand (mostly)

As king, Kawila followed tradition, dressed in full Lanna regalia like all rulers of the Mengrai Dynasty had done in the past, and he entered the Old City through the auspicious northern gate, Pratu Chang Puak, the White Elephant Gate.
 

Becoming a Part of Siam — But Escaping Colonial Rule

Although Siam (the previous name for Thailand) was never colonized, it felt the pressure from the British, who won the Anglo-Burmese War, annexing Burma in its entirety between 1824-1852. The French, meanwhile, had colonized Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In 1885, the Bowring Treaty was negotiated and signed, allowing liberal trade between the United Kingdom and Siam. The British were at this time heavily invested in the teak trade and established the Borneo Trading Company headquarters in Chiang Mai’s Wat Gate district, the foreigners’ enclave (where we stayed at the utterly charming Hotel des Artists Ping Silhouette).

A historic shot of a Chiang Mai market. There’s a lot less mud nowadays

The Lanna Kingdom’s political independence ended in the late 19th century with the arrival of the railroad, and it was eventually incorporated into Siam.

Exploring the city’s streets, Wally and I could feel its storied past resonate amongst the shops, cafés, crowds and timeworn temples. –Duke

Baan Dam, the Black House Museum of Chiang Rai

This Northern Thailand museum is the polar opposite of the White Temple. You certainly don’t get to see a penis shaped like an eagle there.

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The dark, weathered exterior of Baan Dam’s Main Sanctuary Hall appears a bit sinister

Baan Dam, literally the Black House, is the macabre vision of one of Thailand’s most famous artists, Thawan Duchanee. In many ways, the museum acts as a dark reflection of Wat Rong Khun, commonly referred to as the White Temple, located on the other side of the city of Chiang Rai. Where the White Temple strives for pristine perfection, the Black House Museum revels in a melancholic primitivism.

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The museum, including the Sanctuary of Rama, is the vision of one of Thailand’s most famous artists, Thawan Duchanee

Baan Dam is the yin to the White Temple’s yang. The Black House was conceived over a period of 36 years and functioned as Duchanee’s residence and studio. Though the White Temple feels much more like a traditional wat (Thai for temple), neither of these are actually religious structures; they’re both essentially museums.

“Where the White Temple strives for pristine perfection, the Black House Museum revels in a melancholic primitivism. ”

You could imagine pagan rituals taking place in front of the Xieng Thong House

Black List

The museum campus struck me immediately as foreboding — especially after the pureness of the White Temple. The Main Sanctuary Hall, off to the left, looks like a temple, but it’s made of wood and is stained black and dark brown. The more you look at it, the more something seems off. Its gables are steeper, and the barge boards look like they’re coated with dried blood. The tips are made of metal pointing upward like sword blades, giving the structure a menacing demeanor. The building literally looms above you.

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The doors to the main building have intricate carvings of demons with animal-headed penises like the eagle seen here

As you enter the front doors, be sure to admire the elaborate carvings. One set features contorted demons with animal-headed penises — the eagle one certainly brings a whole new meaning to the word “pecker”!

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A bizarre self-portrait with a string rising up to an image of the Buddha

Inside, the soaring exposed-beam ceiling rises above, and you’re greeted by two likenesses of the artist: an abstract obsidian black figure standing within a silver offering bowl with a string tied around his waist and a larger detailed white bust elevated upon a flurry of mythic beings. The string rises high above to a likeness of the Buddha, symbolizing the yearn for enlightenment.

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Duke peeks out from the grouping of pillars in this one-of-a-kind museum

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Where’s Wally? Having fun in the Main Sanctuary Hall, the largest gallery space 

Within the hall are a forest of elaborately carved wooden columns, screens, thrones and long wooden tables. Crocodile skins lay splayed open atop one of the tables, while another features a runner made from a monstrously large snake. It wouldn’t surprise me if I learned the Dothraki from Game of Thrones gather here.

Light wood arches balance out the overall darkness of the space

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A throne made of animal skins and horns

The chairs, some evoking thrones, are constructed of leather and animal horns. They don’t particularly appear comfortable, but as Aegon the Conqueror said in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic, “A king should never sit easy.”

Supposedly, all the taxidermied animals at Baan Dam died of natural causes — which makes the place more spiritual and less sadistic, Atlas Obscura reports.

A painting of a bull by Duchanee

A couple of Duchanee’s large paintings hang in the middle of the hall, bright crimson canvases covered with black slashes and swoops in his signature style.

Escape the sun at the Rest House. There are skulls and horns galore at Baan Dam, giving the museum a primitive feel

We exited through the back door. Most of the buildings on the grounds aren’t open to the public. But you can wander through an open-air gallery to the right that houses more bones, horns, skulls and animal skins, laid out in symmetrical rows, covering the tables and beams. Keep an eye out for the phallic sculptures sprinkled throughout.

Baan Dam’s exploration of the darkness lurking within humanity is somehow avant garde and primitive at the same time. It’s said to have the largest collection of animal remains made into furniture in the world. There’s a sense of death everywhere, the impermanence of life being a major Buddhist theme.

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The white domes are modern takes on stupas (the reliquaries of Thai temples) and are covered with cool graffiti

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A glimpse inside one of the stupas

The white domes off to the side are modern takes on chedis, or stupas, the spired monuments that house sacred relics that are found on every wat complex. These, though, seem like American Indian sweat lodges (Duke read a story they were designed for a hill tribe farting ritual), and they feature really cool street art graffiti on their exteriors.

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This strange building called the Hornbill House was the artist’s home when he was on site

A big black submarine/sea creature-like building with round glass porthole windows, half sunken into the landscape, was said to be where Duchanee slept when on site. It wouldn’t surprise me if his ghost roamed the complex now.

Once we were finished exploring the museum, we bought ice cream at a little stand out front and some caffeinated beverages at the nearby coffeeshop before our driver Tommy took us to the crazy fun Wat Sang Kaew.

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Thawan Duchanee, the man behind the Black House Museum

Portrait of the Artist: Thawan Duchanee

As mentioned, the man behind this dark museum is Thawan Duchanee. The local boy earned a Ph.D. in metaphysics and aesthetics from the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He first took up studies at Bangkok’s Poh Chang Academy of Arts before moving on to study under the Italian painter Corrado Feroci.

I’ve read that Duchanee was a student of Chalermchai Kositpipat, the man who created the White Temple, and that Kositpipat was a student of Duchanee. I’ve also read that both were freelance artists and never taught a day of their lives. Either way, they tend to get lumped together: One created a vision of Heaven, while the other created a version of Hell.

In 2001, Duchanee was officially lauded as a National Thai Artist, but his controversial style wasn’t always popular. “Some of his early work shocked a conservative Thai nation and accusations of disrespecting Buddhism resulted in some people physically attacking his paintings,” Thaizer reports.

Leading figures in Thai society, including the former prime minister Kukrit Pramoj, championed Duchanee’s work. This helped the artist score contracts to paint murals at a number of Thai embassies, and prominent Thai companies to commission work from him to display in their headquarters.

Duchanee combined various elements from traditional Burmese, Tibetan and local Lanna Thai art to create a singular style of his own.

At the end of his life, he was bald up top and sported a long, flowing snow white beard — evoking the stereotype of the wise old man.

He died in 2014 at the age of 74. His unique legacy lives on at Baan Dam Museum. –Wally

“The White Temple is a vision of Heaven, while the Black House Museum is a version of Hell.”

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Baandam Museum
414 Moo 13 Nanglae, Muang
Chiang Rai, 57100 Thailand

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Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Mountain Temple

Head to the mountains outside Chiang Mai, Thailand to explore a popular temple and get an aerial view of the city.

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As with any Thai temple, there’s lots to explore on the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep grounds

The mountain temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is literally the stuff of legends.

Its location was predicated by a dream, a magical relic and the death of an auspicious pachyderm.

“Buddha’s bone shard possesses magical properties: It can make itself invisible. ”

The story goes that a venerated monk named Sumana had a dream in which he was instructed to find a relic of the Gautama Buddha, whose teachings led to the founding of Buddhism. He discovered a fragment of bone from the Buddha’s shoulder among the tall grass at Ban Pang Cha in Chiang Mai Province.

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The sheltered Prince Siddhartha Guatama discovers death in this mural at the temple. He went on to become the Buddha, and part of his magic shoulder bone is enshrined here

The bone shard possesses magical properties: It can make itself invisible, and at the temple of Wat Suan Dok, it miraculously split into two pieces. It was considered bad luck to enshrine both pieces at the same site, but no one knew where to put the other half. The problem was solved in an unusual manner: The larger half of the relic was placed on the back of a chang samkhan, a holy elephant, called “white” because these pinkish albino versions are thought to be especially pure.

The elephant was allowed to roam freely. It climbed to the top of Mount Doi Suthep, where it trumpeted three times before it knelt down and died.

King Kuena, the sixth ruler of the Lanna Kingdom, declared the spot a holy site, and work commenced in 1383 to erect a chedi, or domed tower, to hold the relic. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was born.

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Buddhas galore at Doi Suthep

Temple on the Mountain

The 14th century Buddhist temple and pilgrimage site, known locally as Wat Doi Suthep (and pronounced “Doy Soo-tep”) is located within Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, about 40 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. To reach the wat, Wally and I hired a driver from our hotel (Tommy, whom you can reach via email: t.tommy2556@gmail.com). As he drove us along, he told us about the paved road that winds its way up the mountainside. In 1935, the road was constructed entirely by the voluntary labor of the followers of Kruba Srivichai, known as the Buddhist Saint of Northern Thailand. The project gained such exposure that it attracted donations of 20 million baht and, even though the workers used mostly primitive tools, it was completed after only six months.

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The lengthy staircase at Doi Suthep has railings that slither upwards in the shape of snakelike nagas

We heard there’s a funicular that will take you up to the temple if you don’t want to deal with these stairs

The wat is reached via a 306-step staircase flanked by an undulating naga balustrade. The ascent is intended to help devotees attain merit, the accumulation of good deeds in Buddhism.

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If you want to take pictures of the kids in traditional hill tribe garb, be prepared to pay

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Sometimes you can catch the hill tribe children “off duty,” playing games instead of begging money for photographs

As you climb the stairs, you’ll encounter small groups of young kids, mostly girls, in colorful hill tribe dress. To earn money from tourists, they will ask for a tip if they catch you taking photographs of them. I can’t imagine that it’s a fun way to live, but it was nice to catch a glimpse of them playing games and just being kids when they didn’t know they were being watched.

Entry to Wat Doi Suthep is 30 baht for foreigners and free for Thais. If you wish to take the funicular cable car instead of climbing the stairs, the ride is 20฿ round trip or 10฿ one way.

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Offering candles for the various poses of the Buddha, representing the different days of the week

We visited early in the morning, before the throngs of tourists arrived, giving us the freedom to explore without large crowds.

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This image of the Buddha at Wat Doi Supthep is covered in gold leaf

When Wally and I reached the top of the steps, we were greeted by two giant green yaksha guardians.

A statue of the white elephant with a golden ku, a reliquary for a Buddha image resembling a miniature chedi, on its back, stands immediately to the left. There’s a plaque telling the story of the temple behind it.

A shrine to Sudeva, the hermit who was living on the site at the time when the white elephant transported the famous relic, sits to the right. The leopard-print cloth draped around his body is symbolic of the animal skins traditionally worn by hermits in India and beyond.

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A shrine to Sudeva the hermit wears a leopard-print cloth and has some rather realistic-looking hair

The sun’s intense heat washed over the tiled central courtyard as we entered the plaza containing the shimmering copper-gilded chedi. Fortunately, we were able to take shelter and meander amongst the shaded arcade, which is home to a variety of different Buddha images. The murals covering the walls behind them illustrate the founding of the wat.

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The structure in the middle is called a chedi. This one is covered with thin sheets of copper and houses part of the Buddha’s shoulder bone. If you don’t see it, that’s because it can turn invisible

Because the chedi contains a sacred relic, there are separate lines for men and women. The base is enclosed by a railing to guide ritual circumambulation and, supposedly to maintain its sanctity, only men are allowed inside the innermost railing. (Thais have a warped idea that women are unclean. Read more about Thai Buddhism — the good and the bad — here.)

Out back, we paused to take in the view. Seen from Doi Suthep, the horizon becomes a vast hazy line of dense foliage stretching out far into the distance like an endless sea of green briefly interrupted by the surprisingly small city of Chiang Mai. 

Several souvenir shops are located to the left of the base of the stairs, many with similar items. Don’t be afraid to compare and be prepared to bargain. We saw a wooden monk puppet we really liked and asked the first seller how much it was. She told us 200 baht, or about $6.

We moved on, and every stall we stopped at quoted a higher and higher price — 400฿, 600฿, 900฿.

So we ended up going back to the first woman. In fact, she was so reasonable, we didn’t really even have to negotiate — and we ended up spending about a hundred bucks at her stall. She even threw in some stuff for free. Good karma.

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A stall where worshippers can buy flowers for offerings from a Buddhist nun (they’re much less common than monks)

As we waited at the bottom of the stairs for Tommy to get the car, the shopkeeper came running over to us. She was waving around a stick — part of a larger monk puppet we purchased from her — that she had forgotten to give us. We smiled and thanked her, sure that her good deed earned her some merit at this sacred site. –Duke

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Road
Srivijaya Suthep Mueang Chiang Mai District
Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Thai Iced Tea

This recipe for Thai tea is perfect for hot days and sweet tooths.

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Thai iced tea: where dessert and drink come together into one delicious treat

In Thailand, iced tea isn’t served unsweetened with a lemon wedge. Known as cha yen, it’s more of a caffeinated dessert: a mixture of black tea, sweetened condensed milk and ice. I’m a fan. I mean how can you not have Thai iced tea when in Thailand? I enjoy it so much, I hunted down the recipe so I could have it even when I’m not in Thailand!

The exact origins of Thai tea remain a mystery, but some historians believe it to be a lingering influence from Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram,  a former prime minister of Thailand with a penchant for Western culture. The tea became a staple of Thai street food culture, sometimes spiced with star anise and orange blossom water, but more often than not, served without any additional flavorings.

As the climate in Thailand tends to be hot and humid, tea is often drunk cold with ice. Sweetened condensed milk was most likely introduced during the Colonial era and grew in popularity since it keeps without refrigeration.

Many Thai restaurants in the U.S. use an instant mix that contains the artificial food coloring FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the mix, also known as sunset yellow. It’s derived from crude oil, which gives it that bright orange hue, and incidentally, it’s the same dye that gives Kraft Mac & Cheese its trademark color. No thank you.

This version has a distinctively floral and spicy flavor, sweetened by a blend of condensed and evaporated milk. The sum of the parts isn’t overly sweet but quite rich, ideal in small doses. It’s one of those recipes that’s surprisingly easy to make, and once you get the basics down, you can adjust the flavors and concentration the way you like. The tea base and spiced syrup can be kept refrigerated for up to a week.

Cheers, or chai yo, as they say in Thailand! –Duke

Special Equipment

• Saucepan
• Measuring spoons
• Small bowl
• Glasses
   

Yield: 8 servings

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: Chill for 8 hours to overnight

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Break out the condensed milk, star anise, cardamom seeds, cloves and ceylon tea for this recipe

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 10 bags black tea (preferably ceylon)
• 4 star anise pods
• 1 teaspoon decorticated cardamom seeds
• 4 whole cloves
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
• ¼ cup half & half
• ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Ice

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Steep and chill the tea for 8 hours. Good things come to those who wait

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Two kinds of milk mix together to give this tea its creamy, sweet taste

Preparation

Bring sugar and 1 cup of water and to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Remove the pan from heat and add star anise, cardamom seeds and cloves. Let sit for 20 minutes until flavors are infused.

Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl. Put in fridge.

Add 10 black tea bags and 7 cups cold water to a large pitcher.

Chill for 8 hours to overnight.

Discard tea bags.

Pour chilled syrup into pitcher.

In a small bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and half & half. Add ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract. Add to the tea in pitcher.

Serve over ice.